WHAT’S NEW?
Producing an eighth edition may indicate that we’ve attracted loyal followers over the years. Conversely, it also
means that making significant changes from one edition to the next can be hazardous to the book’s
longstanding appeal. New content has been added to this edition in an effort to keep information current,
while retaining material that has stood the test of time. With the guidance of many program evaluation
instructors and students alike, we have clarified material that needed clarification, deleted material that needed
deletion, and simplified material that needed simplification. We have done the customary updating and
rearranging of material in an effort to make our book more practical and “student-friendly” than ever before.
We have incorporated suggestions by numerous reviewers and students over the years while staying true to our
main goal—providing students with a useful and practical evaluation book that they can actually understand
and appreciate.
Let’s now turn to the specifics of “what’s new”:
• We have substantially increased our emphasis throughout our book on how to select and implement social
work programs and use program logic models to describe programs, select intervention strategies, develop
and measure program objectives, and help develop program evaluation questions.
• We have included a brand-new chapter, Chapter 9, titled “Evidence-Based Programs.
• We have significantly revised and expanded four tools that were included in the previous edition’s Tool
Kit and made them full chapters:
– Chapter 15: Measuring Program Outcomes
– Chapter 16: Using Common Evaluation Designs
– Chapter 17: Collecting Data and Selecting a Sample
– Chapter 18: Training and Supervising Data Collectors
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INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
Instructors have a password-protected tab (Instructor Resources) on the book’s website that contains links.
Each link is broken down by chapter. They are invaluable and you are encouraged to use them.
• PowerPoint Slides
• Group Activities
• Online Activities
• Instructor Presentations
• Multiple-Choice and True-False Quiz Questions
• Writing Assignments
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